IIT Develops 5G Antenna for Mobile Phones

The electronics department of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed 5G antenna technology for mobile phones that can eliminate data loss and enhance download speeds 10 times more than current 4G phones.

Associate Professor Raghvendra Kumar Chaudhary of the Institutes electronics department told TOI that the new technology would not only eliminate data loss that current 4G phones experience, but would also enhance downloading and live streaming needs by 10 times. He said a team comprising of three students and two professors developed the antenna. Their work was funded by the department of science and technology (DST) and the central government’s Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)

Explaining the advantages of 5G Antennas, Chaudhary said, “Currently 4G LTE networks, which use MIMO technology, offer peak data speeds of around 40 Mbps. It is expected that 5G will utilize three new technologies: Massive MIMO, beam forming, and cognitive radio technologies to offer higher data speeds. MIMO technology in 4G involves four antennas at transmitter and receiver sections, whereas Massive MIMO involves 64 antennas at both transmitter and receiver sections. This greatly increases the capacity of the base station, offering higher data speeds.”

The research work for teh new antenna is being sent to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for publication. Once the article is published it may be used by mobile phone manufacturer for commercial use. In order to use the new technology, manufacturers will have to make significant changes in infrastructure and details of the change will also be published.